When my friend Raphaelle Pasquier calls to say she’s coming to Macau, I ask her if she’ll please (please please) bring some of  her Burgundies. Raphaelle is the Brand Ambassador and Export Manager for Labouré–Roi, one of the best and largest wineries in Burgundy, the renowned wine region in central France. “You supply the Burgundies,” I tell her, “and I’ll organize a dinner. I know the perfect place, with the perfect host.”

Macau’s Institute of Tourism Studies (IFT) runs a Michelin-recommended Educational Restaurant where students put theory into practice, preparing themselves to deliver superlative meals and service. The man who makes it happen is David Wong, Executive Assistant Manager and head of IFT’s Food and Beverage department. Besides looking after the restaurant, David is a Certified Wine Specialist and teaches wine studies at IFT. And he just so happens to love Burgundy wines.

Fittingly, he has decided to serve dinner in the IFT restaurant’s wine cellar. It’s a happy feeling to be surrounded by so much wine. David’s smile broadens as he examines the enticing selection of bottles Raphaelle has brought from Labouré–Roi.

Burgundy produces some of the world’s finest Pinot Noirs, Chardonnays and Chablis. The region is a quilt of thousands of vineyards, many of them tiny plots of land tended by expert small-scale growers. Every plot has its own unique geography and mico-climate, and these special characteristics, known as terroir, infuse the grapes and wine with flavors of inimitable subtlety and nuance.

“Burgundy wines are very delicate. They have a level of complexity that Bordeaux wines can not match.” Raphaelle swirls her wine as she speaks, then raises the glass to her nose and inhales deeply. “This one is a Chardonnay from the village of Mersault—the rich fruit flavor is balanced by its acidity. It’s a perfect match with seafood.”

With impeccable timing, David arrives with plates of seared scallops, Portuguese black sausage and orange marmalade. The sweetness of the scallop contrasts nicely with the fattiness of the sausage and the tang of the jam. Raphaelle was right: a sip of the bright, flavorful Chardonnay sharpens and clarifies the flavors.

Raphaelle tells us that the Chinese wine market is a hard one to crack, as so many people focus solely on name recognition. In China, ordering a bottle of Bordeaux is the most popular way to demonstrate social status. “People in Macau are much more open to wine education,” she says. “They are eager to learn and willing to ask questions.”

“Initially people buy on name and reputation,” says David, “but once they learn to trust their own palettes a whole new world of wines opens up.”

“It’s wonderful to meet someone here in Macau who is so knowledgeable and passionate about wine, and especially wine from Burgundy!” says Raphaelle. “There is so much more beyond Bordeaux. I’m really excited for people to discover different wines.”

After the Chardonnay we open a bottle of Nuits-Saints-Georges, a Pinot Noir with a heady aroma of cedar, licorice and blackcurrant. Raphaelle tells us that the Apollo XV astronauts took a bottle of Nuits with them to the moon, where they popped the cork and named a crater Saint-George, in honor of the Jules Verne character who celebrates the beauty of the moon with a bottle of the same wine.

Carrying my glass of Nuits with me, I follow David into the kitchen to see what he’s preparing for our next course. “It’s a traditional Italian dish with a Macanese twist,” he says, stirring a knob of butter into a pot of thick, velvety rice. “Risotto with wild mushrooms—and bacalhau. It’s one our most popular dishes. I tried once to take it off the menu, but people kept asking for it.”

After trying a forkful of the risotto, I give silent thanks to all those who lobbied to keep it. The creamy rice has been deliciously infused with Parmesan cheese and works perfectly with the earthy mushrooms and the delicate flakes of salty cod. A dish with this much character requires a robust wine as a partner. The Nuits Pinot Noir is equal to the task—it’s a complex, intensely flavorful wine that combines acidic high notes with smoky depths of wood flavor.

Raphaelle loves David’s risotto and David loves Raphaelle’s Burgundies and I feel happy and fortunate to be enjoying that combination of things I love best in life: great food, fine wine and fabulous friends.

Reservation inquires: (853) 85983077 or fbreservation@ift.edu.mo

By Jean Alberti

Photography by David Hartung and Jojo Mamangun